Friday, January 28, 2011

God Says, Our Reply

GOD SAYS, OUR REPLY
Deuteronomy 30:20
“[Now choose life, so that you and your children might live] and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

“If I die today, I’m not sure I’m ready for heaven. I’m having way too much fun for life to end!” Bobby teased his buddy Miguel, as they wrestled to the floor in Bobby’s house after school.

What must God think when He overhears His kids’ chatter? Didn’t He send Jesus to save mankind? How many times do His kids beg for more time on earth, not yet ready to come to the place He’s preparing for us? (John 14:2-3). Kids are famous for saying the funniest things. Even the smallest children pick up phrases they hear others say.

“Pick up your toys and return them to the chest. Then wash up for dinner” Mom says. Before dinner’s on the table, her two kids are sitting in their chairs. “Did you put your toys away? Did you wash your hands?” Mom asks.

“Later, Mom” one replies.

“We’re too busy right now” says the other.”

Do you ever wonder what God may sometimes think when we side step His commands? For one thing, just as the two children who’re awaiting dinner didn't follow Mom's command, they are disobedient. And yet, despite our disobedience, we’re encouraged to run straight to God when needing help.

What does God think when someone’s too weary to pray after a long day? Jesus offers us with outstretched arms, “Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

When we’re rebelling, do we stop to remember God’s command to be holy? (1Peter 1:16). How often do we imagine we’re invisible when we’re doing bad things?

To the children at the dinner table: “Get down and wash your hands, NOW!” Mom ordered. “You can clean up your toys after dinner.”

Miguel said to Bobby, when they lay exhausted in a heap on the rug, “This IS fun, but I’ll bet that heaven is even more fun than we can even imagine!”

Take Home Nugget


God speaks to His kids throughout the Bible. Most times, we’re too busy to hear His voice, too frantic to remember His promises. For everything He does for us nonstop, how can we best show Him our appreciation? Obedience is the best way to show God our love, and is our best reply.

J.D. Griffith
Master, speak, and make me ready,
When Thy voice is truly heard,
With obedience glad and steady,
Still to follow every word.

Havergal

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Triune Gifting

TRIUNE GIFTING
Romans 11:33-36
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!
‘Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been His counselor?’
‘Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?’
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Miguel (fourth grader off from school due to snow) scooped Buddy’s (his dog's) frozen ‘deposits’ from the back yard, dropping them in a paper bag. Miguel learned that getting a job close to being done wasn’t good enough. Just as Jesus completed every task set before Him, we too, are to serve diligently—finishing everything we’re called to do. (See Just This Once? devotion).

Snapping Buddy’s leash on his dog’s wagging body, Miguel said, “Let’s go for a walk” to which Buddy gladly complied. The gently falling snow blanketed the earth with crystalline white, and Miguel smiled. A Cardinal’s scarlet body contrasted starkly when lighting on a mail box, and Miguel smiled. The serene quiet set the stage for Miguel’s inner reflection.

Did Miguel realize that the Triune God works nonstop in gifting His kids? Jesus came to earth to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). His death and resurrection offer everyone hope for eternal life, the Father’s gift to whomever accepts Jesus as Lord (John 3:16). The Father sends the Holy Spirit to live inside that person forever, and Who gifts us spiritually (John 14:16, 16:7). As we grow in the Lord, His marvelous fruit of our lives produces rich harvest for His kingdom.

These divine gifts don’t end here on earth, they continue into heaven. The Lord will judge believers, and grants us rewards for the good works that we could never accomplish apart from Him. All the credit and glory belong to God…and yet He graciously showers praise on His beloved followers (1Corinthians 4:5).

“Yes Buddy” Miguel said aloud, “We’re truly blessed, and I’m not talking about just having clothes, food, and shelter.” Buddy looked up at him, and licked his lips. “Check out what’s before you—a winter wonderland—fit for a king!” Miguel announced, spreading his arms out wide.

Take Home Nugget


What a caring, generous God we serve! He needs nothing from us, but He dearly wants every one of us to love Him back. He’s not interested in controlling us, but rather wants to shower us with the “surpassing riches of His grace in kindness” Ephesians 2:7.
J.D. Griffith
As endless as God’s blessings are,
So should my praises be
For all His daily goodnesses
That flow unceasingly!

Adams

Friday, January 21, 2011

Just This Once?

JUST THIS ONCE?
Hebrews 5:7-8
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

Opening his front door, Miguel, a fourth grader with black curly hair, sighed. Buddy, the little mixed-breed dog at his feet, sniffed the air and barked. The snow was still falling. “Not yet, Buddy” Miguel told him.

Miguel’s Dad, home from work with a broken leg, asked Miguel, “Have you finished everything your Mom had on her ‘to do’ list? Just because school’s closed, doesn’t mean you have today off, son!”

“Mostly” Miguel answered.

Not good enough, Miguel. “Mostly” won’t do! Jesus didn’t settle with doing most of what fulfilled Scripture. He didn’t say, “It is finished” with most of His work completed (John 19:30). He finished it all, everything down to the last detail. Jesus showed us, as God-man, how to surrender His will to the Father’s and obey—regardless of the suffering.

Jesus identifies with us in every way what we suffer (Hebrews 2:17-18). When it’s tough for us to obey the Lord, we need the help of the One Who learned obedience from the things He suffered. Unlike us, Jesus didn’t grow from rebellion to obedience. (Obedience is something new for believers to grasp). But Jesus did learn from personal experience the path we have to walk when God calls us to do something difficult.

In His humanity, Christ struggled with His assignment to die a torturous death on the cross. Despite the Father having heard His Son’s cries, the master plan remained unchanged. Jesus walked through it all in complete submission, just as He’d done with every earthly task.

Can we get away with less?

“What does ‘mostly’ mean, son?” Miguel’s Dad pressed.

“I still have to clean up Buddy’s ‘deposits’ in the back yard” Miguel admitted.
“Well then, you’d better get busy before the snow buries the evidence!”

Take Home Nugget


The only reason we’re Christians—and look forward to our next life in heaven as eternally saved people—is because of Brother Jesus’ perfect obedience. If He would have rebelled, even once, all hope for lost humanity would have been cancelled! Remember this when you want to beg off finishing every task by asking, “Just this once?”

While life is uncertain, death is sure.
Sin is our disease, but Christ is the cure!

J.D. Griffith

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Parallel Citizenship

PARALLEL CITIZENSHIP
Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

Do you think this year is off to a great start? Do you feel, as a partner with Almighty God (Joint Venture devotion) and living by faith and not by sight (Higher Reality devotion), that one of your feet is on planet Earth, and the other one is dangling in thin air? It’s hard to stand firm when both feet aren’t secure on solid ground. As a believer in Christ, we’re currently between worlds. We’ve got parallel (PAR-a-lell means matching) citizenships in both this world and the next (heaven).

What’s weird is that this dual citizenship is simultaneous. We dare looking into our future in Heaven, while still battling trials on Earth. How many people have both these citizenships? It’s hard to tell just by looking. The person sitting beside you could either be your brother or sister in Christ, or a person who’s future does not include eternity in heaven.

Some people had a dramatic life that displayed both citizenships openly. Imagine Mary, when the angel told her that she was going to give birth to Jesus. Her one foot was in familiar territory, where she was engaged to be married, and the other foot was dangling in space. How would she tell Joseph? How would her parents react to their pregnant, unmarried daughter? (Luke 1:26-45).

And imagine Joseph. He fell in love with this girl and wanted to marry her, only to discover that she’s pregnant—with God’s Son! (Matthew 1:18-25). He must have wondered who this girl was, that God chose her to have His Son. Was he crazy to marry Mary? One thing we know for sure: he believed what the angel told him, and obeyed.

Both of their struggles must have been torment. Mary was thrilled to have been chosen as the one who would give birth to her long-awaited Messiah. On the other hand, she was at the mercy of Joseph’s, her parent’s, and neighbor’s disgust. But her song is still sung today! (Luke 1:46-56).
Whenever God allows His kids to live through troubled times, He walks with us. He equips us, strengthens us, and cheers our victory. It sure grows our faith when ending up on solid ground after one foot’s been dangling in thin air!

Take Home Nugget


Christmas is when we see the two worlds collide. The Lord of both worlds descended to live by the rules of the one when Jesus surrendered His deity to live as a human. What Jesus accomplished on Earth made it possible for God to resolve all discord in both worlds!

The key to Christmas is ‘Immanuel’—God with us!!
J.D. Griffith

Friday, January 14, 2011

Christocentric

CHRISTOCENTRIC
Zechariah 12:10-14
v. 10: “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a Spirit of grace and supplication. They will look upon Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child.”

Christocentric (krist-o-SENT-ric) means Jesus Christ is at the center of everything. This principle of Biblical understanding relates all things to Jesus Christ. He’s the heart, the core, the axis from which everything else is linked. God the Father, angels, the whole universe, the devil, human hopes are all parts of our understanding that can be seen in relationship to Jesus.

Christocentric evaluation of how we view things kind of turns our world upside down, doesn’t it? Perhaps Christocentric relationship of all things known is the most precise way to see things. Every other way to view life is what’s upside down!
We are not at the center, that’s for sure!

As God’s kids embarking on a new year, many of us are following the points made in the previous devotions, Joint Venture, Higher Reality, and Belief & Action. We’ve become partners with the Almighty--branches who get nourishment from the vine of Christ--with a purpose of pleasing the Lord by good works. We’re on board with living by faith, and not by sight. We’re enrolled in God’s school of obedience, and are growing in trust for Him every day. What’s more relevant than to begin to view everything in the world (and beyond) in relationship to Jesus Christ?

The Bible is Jesus’ story. From the beginning to the end (Alpha and Omega), the Bible is Christocentric. The opening Scripture, for example, speaks about Jesus being pierced. This is in reference to Israel’s rejection of Christ as Messiah. At Jesus’ second coming, a remnant of Israel will recognize the One crucified and embrace Him.

The Old Testament book, Zechariah, shows many details of our Savior, as well as predicting the future. By finding Scripture that opens the door to seeing passages about Jesus in the Old Testament, we’re encouraged to look all throughout the Bible for Christ-centered truths.

Take Home Nugget


Keeping Christ in mind—when considering all things—is fun to do. Imagine the kid who gives you a hard time. Ask Jesus to give you a different perspective about this person. You might see that he’s jealous of you, and really wants to be your friend. Won’t you two enjoy remembering your rough beginning, after you’ve become good friends?
Jesus Christ is the key that unlocks both the Word of God, and your own story.
J.D. Griffith
Some have read God’s holy Book
But failed to see its glory;
That’s because they didn’t know
It’s really Jesus’ story.
Branon

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Belief & Action

BELIEF & ACTION
John 14:15-21
v. 20: “On that day [after Jesus' resurrection] you will realize that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”

This ought to give all God’s kids much joy. Can you see the unbroken link between you, Jesus, and the Father? At this point in John 14, Jesus had kept his disciples close for three years. But the time was coming…when their lives would unravel by His death. There was so much Jesus wanted to reveal to them so that they wouldn’t fall apart. The assurance that by our belief and faith--we are one with the Almighty God--ought to be enough to keep us strong and courageous through everything that happens in life. But just as with Jesus’ first disciples, we too, need reassurance from time to time.

We’ve learned to walk by faith instead of what’s visible (see Higher Reality devotion). Our days here on earth grow us in many ways—and we never stop learning—even after college! There is book learning, life learning, and spiritual learning (or sanctification, making us holy). Part of being set apart from the world is enrolling in God’s school of obedience.

Here, our trust in God grows. (We see first-hand that God truly is Who He says He is). In this school we develop “waiting-on-the-Lord” patience. (We resist running ahead, and wait for the right timing, where doors open). We finally grasp obedience, and commit to His ways. (Before making this decision, fear prevents our choosing God’s path).

Our study book? The Bible. Would you go into the forest at night without a flashlight?

Searching The Word is important for guidance, but the Father also wants us to listen to His Spirit’s promptings. Rarely do God’s kids actually “hear” God speak. But Jesus guarantees us, in John 14:26, that the Counselor will teach and remind us what we need to know.

Abraham had no idea where God was sending him, but he went anyway. Now that’s obedience! The Father expects the same from us. That’s what is meant by “stepping out in faith”; we don’t need to know the details of our journey, kids! Even Jesus made the Father’s will His own priority and purpose.

Before we realize it, we’ll discover that we are linked with Jesus and the Father as one—what joy!

Take Home Nugget


When people see that your life interests and choices have changed in living full throttle for God, expect conflict. Jesus warns us that in this world, we will have trouble. But He wants us to take heart, “I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”

Master speak, make me ready,
Upon Your prompting heard
To obey gladly and steady
Following Your every word.

J.D. Griffith

Friday, January 7, 2011

Higher Reality

HIGHER REALITY
2Corinthians 5:6-8
v. 7: “We live by faith, not by sight.”

Full throttle for God and Joint Venture devotions began our new year with a bang, if we dare to follow the message. Are you ready for an even more thrilling adventure? This third rail of the partnership guarantees success as we grow deeper into following Jesus.

As humans, we typically measure the world through our five senses. Beyond what our eyes see, ears hear, fingers touch, noses smell, and tongues taste is a higher reality. Our Father commands us to live by faith, not by sight. (This is easier for a kid than an adult because kids naturally trust, adults naturally challenge). The world (non-believers) lives by sight, because it does not believe in God. So what is this live by faith stuff? The Father calls His kids to believe that what the Bible says about Him is true. This trust in the unseen God allows us to live confidently, although non-believers won’t have a clue.

Scripture claims that God is good—and is faithful to keep His promises (2Corinthians 1:20). Psalm 86:15 calls Him merciful, gracious, loving, and slow to anger. Hebrews 13:8 guarantees that God’s character never changes.

The truth of who God is depends totally on Him—not on opinion, circumstance, or feelings. It isn’t anything humans can scientifically measure, so leave your unbelief outside. Ephesians 2:8 points out that belief, or faith, is a gift from the Lord. So, it’s not something we can force on ourselves. But we can pray to the Father, asking Him to give us more faith, especially when we’re unsure.

How do we live by faith, then? Our conduct, lifestyle, and the choices we make show others who’s in charge of our lives. When the Holy spirit is guiding our steps, we purposefully follow. Although we can’t usually see where we’re heading, asking for direction and wisdom maintains peaceful hearts. Confidently putting our trust in God—because we admit that He always knows what’s best—assures us of answered prayers, and that every need will be met.

When attempting to handle life by ourselves, the stress can be overwhelming. Isn’t it a wonderful peace when our God offers us rest? Infinitely wise, perfectly loving, and completely sovereign, our Lord is supremely capable to care for His children.

Take Home Nugget


Never become embarrassed after making a mistake—we all do! Our God is eager to hear repentance, and immediately scoops us back into His embrace. As we grow deeper into this higher reality of focusing on Christ, our trust and belief increase, too!

“Take up your cross” the Savior said,
If you My disciple would be;
With willing heart, humbly
Follow after Me!

J.D. Griffith

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Joint Venture

JOINT VENTURE
1Corinthians 12:4-11
v.7: “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Happy 2011! Now that we’re in full throttle for God, (See Full Throttle 4 God devotion) let’s examine this partnership. Joint venture is a business term that forms an alliance (al-LI-ance means association, treaty, pact) between two firms, or people. The New Year’s resolution we just gave God, if you followed through with Full Throttle for God, was forming a partnership with the creator of the entire universe. Now that’s what I call a partner!

Just as it was a little frightening to be named as a disciple for Jesus, living full throttle for God, and becoming His partner can be intimidating (in-TIM-i-DATE-ing means threatening, scary), too. There’s really nothing to fear. We are promised that we’re never alone in this venture (VEN-chur means endeavor, dare, task). Jesus remains as our nourishing vine (John 15:1-5), and walks beside us every day.

No one is a bystander in God’s kingdom! He chooses to work through humans to accomplish His Gospel mission (telling others about Jesus) on earth. We’re not only the branches that the gardener prunes, we’re also the workers cultivating (KUL-tiv-a-ting means growing, educating) the fruit to be harvested. (Matthew 9:37-38). On earth, we work the largest garden ever! So how does the Father equip us for this partnership?

The Father provides one or more spiritual gifts to every child for the work before us. The Father knit that special gift into our personalities and unborn (sleeping) talents. Ask Him what is your unique gift and purpose, if it’s not clear to you. There is no such thing as a non-gifted believer. We’re after all, His workmanship, created in Jesus for the purpose of good works (Ephesians 2:10). The special wiring is the Holy Spirit Who’ll manifest, (show, make plain) our special gifts.

The Holy Spirit’s leading and Jesus’ sap of nourishment that flows from the vine into the branches (you and me), is how we produce fruit for God’s kingdom. The Spirit then lives and works through God’s kids to exhibit acts of service. God’s power is behind and through it all!

Instead of shrinking away from accepting and following your life’s purpose, I encourage you to embrace this joint venture. Full throttle for God will rock your world!

Take Home Nugget


God’s awesome power is present inside you. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey God in whatever He brings before us. Won’t you check out the lesson that accompanies this devotion to see the various gifts available to God’s kids? Which ones do you possess?
Take stock, child,
For your life has come due.
You know God’s made you wild
For the task that He’s prepared for you!

J.D. Griffith